Sotelma (Moov Africa Malitel)

Stock performance

History

Société des Télécommunications du Mali (Sotelma) was created in 1989 as the state telecom operator and launched the Malitel mobile network in the 2000s. In 2009 Morocco's Maroc Telecom bought 51% of the company in its privatization, with the Malian state keeping the rest, and in 2021 its services were rebranded as Moov Africa Malitel.

Business model

Sotelma provides fixed-line telephony, internet, and mobile services, along with the Moov Money mobile-money service, and operates much of Mali's backbone and international connectivity infrastructure.

Market position

Sotelma is Mali's historical operator and its second-largest mobile network, behind Orange Mali, and it remains the main fixed-line provider.

Country impact

Sotelma's partial privatization to Maroc Telecom was part of Morocco's broader economic expansion into West Africa, and the company's infrastructure is central to connecting a large, landlocked country to the global internet.